08 December 2007
Omani star Fatima faces uphill task
Khaleej Times - Sports Reporter
DUBAI — Oman’s Fatima Al Nabhani faces another uphill task when she battles top seed Irena Pavlovic of France in the qualifiers of the ninth $75,000 ITF Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge which starts at the Habtoor Grand Resort and Spa today.
The Omani star was given a wild card last year but ran into a formidable opponent, ranked 71 on the ITF rankings, cutting short her campaign in the first round of the qualifiers. Al Nabhani’s opponent this time in the first round is ranked 257 on the ITF list, compared to her modest ranking of 916.
Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium is seeded second with Valentina Sassi of Italy, third and Anastasia Poltoratskaya of Russia, fourth. The other women in the fray aiming for the four berths into the main draw include Sweden’s Michaela Johansson, seeded fifth, Pemra Ozgen of Turkey (6), Irina Kuzmina of Latvia (7) and Veronika Kapshay of Ukraine (8). The qualifiers, which starts at 9.30am, will run till 10pm.
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